You Were Created for this Day and Age
God has a plan for your life. There are times when God will ask you to do difficult things. Can God accomplish His plans without you? Yes. But He asks you to participate in His plans because it strengthens your faith. We must now be people of action. There is a significant purpose for every remnant believer who is alive in this hour. Many will have different visions and things that God puts on our hearts, yet we will all be about the business of the Lord.
We may face uncertainty, failure, fear, and suffering as we try to fulfill God’s plans for our lives. But God is with us every step of the way. He works all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
This verse was spoken to Esther because she found herself in a position to rescue her people, the Jews, from death. But, if she followed through with her plans to intervene, she put her own life at risk because of the laws at that time. Esther was reluctant, but she trusted that God sovereignly put her in that position at that time to do what needed to be done. This tested her faith, and God worked all things for good in her situation. This is very important for us all to understand and apply.
Esther was a Jewish maiden who was taken into the royal court of King Xerxes and eventually chosen to be the queen of Persia. She was integral in delivering the Jews from destruction, an event celebrated on the Feast of Purim. The Bible makes it clear that Esther was placed in her influential position “for such a time as this”—God’s purpose was accomplished through Esther in the perilous time in which she lived.
Esther was a Jewish maiden who was taken into the royal court of King Xerxes and eventually chosen to be the queen of Persia. She was integral in delivering the Jews from destruction, an event celebrated on the Feast of Purim. The Bible makes it clear that Esther was placed in her influential position “for such a time as this”—God’s purpose was accomplished through Esther in the perilous time in which she lived.
Esther had been one of the “beautiful young virgins” from whom King Xerxes could select a new queen (Esther 2:2). Esther had been orphaned as a child, and her cousin, Mordecai, cared for her. Following Mordecai’s instructions, Esther did not reveal to anyone that she was a Jew. In time, Esther won the favor of King Xerxes, and he crowned her queen (Esther 2:17).
Sometime later, Xerxes gave Haman the Agagite great honor and commanded the officials at his gate to kneel in Haman’s presence and pay him homage. Mordecai, who worked in the gate, refused to do so. This enraged Haman so he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people—the Jews—and obtained the king’s permission to carry out the genocide (Esther 3).
Sometime later, Xerxes gave Haman the Agagite great honor and commanded the officials at his gate to kneel in Haman’s presence and pay him homage. Mordecai, who worked in the gate, refused to do so. This enraged Haman so he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people—the Jews—and obtained the king’s permission to carry out the genocide (Esther 3).
Esther was reluctant to approach the king because it was against the law to come before the king’s presence uninvited—on pain of death. The eunuch reported Esther’s response to Mordecai. Then Mordecai sent word back: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13–14).
Mordecai, in urging Esther to act, points her to a higher purpose: “Who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14, NASB). He frames it as a possibility for her to consider: could it be that God has placed Esther in her royal position precisely because of the clear and present danger the Jews are in? It was just such a time—a time of crisis, a time of existential threat—that the Jews needed her. It was no accident that Esther became queen of Persia; she was there for a reason.
Mordecai was right. Esther was indeed on the throne “for such a time as this,” and she became God’s instrument of deliverance for the Jews in Persia.
Sometimes we miss the importance of Esther’s obedience to God’s plan. Mordecai presented Esther with a choice. She could choose to recognize her providential placing in the royal court and opt to risk her own life to save her people. Or she could choose to remain silent, try to protect herself, and hope for the best. Either way, Mordecai knew that God would rescue His people. Esther chose the path of joy and blessing when she agreed to play her role in God’s plan. My prayer is that this inspires you as well.
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